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It's been an adventurous couple of days so far. It took three flights to finally get onto the glacier, the first attempt getting turned back about half way to the airstrip on the SE fork of the Kahiltna glacier. The second time we were just four minutes from the airstrip when ground fog turned us back. But, at 6:00pm we finally made it! I've got to hand it to our pilots. Three attempts is unprecedented.
Given the hour of the day we opted to make camp and begin our climb in the morning.
I'm sure I wasn't the only climber on the trip to fret about the winds and snow the was blasting our tents all night, but at 6:00am the weather settled and we awoke to calm skies. Unfortunately, it didn't last and clouds and snow soon became the order of the day. Navigating in conditions like this can be a challenge, but I soon discovered that we had a secret weapon on our team: our guide Maile Wade, whose uncanny eyes could pick out even the smallest speck of a wand in the white out conditions that our first day served up for us. Coupled with my gps, we made it to tonight's camp at 7800' in great order. Of course, the tiresome winds of the day challenged our camp building skills, but I have to hand to the entire team, everybody dealt exceptionally well with all that was thrown our way today. The first days of these big expeditions can be trying even in nice conditions, and that everyone was in great spirits at the end of the day bodes well for the rest of the trip.
In the parlance of the young: 'I'm psyched!'
RMI Guide Brent Okita
There were many bright spots to what was otherwise a very cold, snowy and windy week on Mt. Rainier. Our team met on Sunday for our six -day Expedition Seminar and our day of prep was well used as we got our gear all ready for a possible push to Camp Muir the next day. However, the weather on Monday was marginal for moving to Muir, so we got a great day of training on the mountain and camped at about 6,200’ below Panorama point.
Tuesday was blue bird and made for excellent hiking conditions to Camp Muir which the entire team reached in good shape. From there the weather conditions deteriorated and Wednesday saw temperatures reaching 2 degrees F with winds averaging 30-40 mph. But that did not keep us from training. Our team only ascended a few feet higher than Camp Muir at 10,188’, but we had a great experience and learned a ton, much of which came courtesy of Mother Nature. Friday the winds abated enough to allow us to descend back to Paradise, although it was still windy, snowy and a white out much of the time. But everybody did really well cramponing and snowshoeing down to Paradise.
We later celebrated the week and our time together sharing a burger and a cold one at our favorite local restaurant. From the comfort of the dining room I could take stock of the really bright spot of the week: sharing time with a remarkable group of individuals.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
We got a lot done today. Things started out crystal clear at 15,600 ft in Gokyo this morning. We started walking at our customary 8:00 am. At first we strolled along one glowing turquoise lake after another, then we got moving down steeper descents along a charging, churning river. It got really big when we reached the terminus of the Ngozumpa Glacier. The steep sided valley got bigger and bigger. We had “new” mountains to look at on all sides. Despite the rugged and confining valley, we’d occasionally come across hidden side valleys with vivid green yak pastures and a few tea houses. We took advantage of one of those houses to simply sit outside and sip tea for a relaxing 45 minutes. Then it was back to work, dropping altitude. We rolled into 13,200 ft Dhole and settled into the welcoming Alpine Lodge after about four hours travel. High altitude was wonderful and exciting…but none of us mind being a little lower. Eating is easier, sleeping is easier…almost everything is easier. The afternoon clouded up--again--and so it wasn’t hard to just take it easy after our big walk.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Ngorongoro Crater was worth getting up early for. We were on the road by 6:30 AM. It was cloudy and as we climbed up to the rim of the old collapsed volcano, we were in thick fog. This did not prevent us from seeing a handful of elephants in the forest up there though.
Our first hours in the “crater” were actually a little cool and drizzly, but we were seeing abundant wildlife and so we didn’t really care. We saw everything from Cape Buffalo to Jackals. The giant herds of Zebra and Wildebeest were a big hit. During the course of the day, we crisscrossed the valley floor and saw eight lions (beating yesterday’s total). We got to see a number of happy hippopotamus pile-ups in the mud and shallow waters.
By mid-afternoon we were climbing out of the bowl to visit a Maasai village on the crater rim. We danced with the villagers, and they showed us some of their traditional methods for building fires and living in the wild. The team got back to the Plantation Lodge in time for a sunset swim in the pool before dinner.
Tarangire tomorrow!
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
RMI Guide Zeb Blais checked in from the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Zeb and the Expedition Skills Seminar ascended via the Emmons Glacier from Camp Schurman this morning.
The team started their program with two days of training in Ashford and Paradise before departing early Sunday morning for the White River Trail head. After two nights on the mountain, expedition style camping and mountaineering training the team made their summit attempt this morning. They will return to Camp Schurman this afterrnoon and spend a final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will break camp and return to the trail head.
Congratulations to the team!
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by
Geoff Schellens and
Jenny Konway turned this morning at 13,500'. The team made the call to turn around after experiencing high wind gusts on the upper mountain. They called in from about 12,300' at 7:00 AM PT and reported good views and a steady descent.
Today I carried more gear and food to Annapurna Camp 1 as more bad weather approached. While climbing today I noticed icefall avalanche activity was quite frequent. So far Annapurna has been relatively quiet, hopefully this isn't a sign of permanent change. As I arrived at Camp 1 around noon it was snowing steadily with low visibility. My plan had been to go all the way up to Camp 2, but the weather was so uncertain at Camp 1 that I decided to drop the equipment at Camp 1 and head back down. Currently I'm at Base Camp sitting out this spell of bad weather.
Tentbound... again
I had considered going directly to Camp 2 today to attempt a possible summit push on the 15th. But the 15th (possibly a decent day at 8,000 meters) is sandwiched between loading events (significant snowfall). The unstable weather looks to persist until the 18th.
General Mtn news: Camp 3 was hit by an avalanche a few days ago, two teams had cached oxygen bottles and other items there a while back. All these items were swept away. The nine-day weather forecast does not look promising. Heavy snowfalls, then some clearing but with high winds. I'm hoping the forecast will change to something more promising in the next few days.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
The weather out at Vinson Base remained unsuitable for flying. The fog was in. We ate breakfast and drank coffee at Union Glacier Camp. Without a ray of hope for the
Vinson mission, the Twin Otter aircraft were dispatched on long flights that took them close to the South Pole. They dropped off several teams interested in skiing "the Last Degree" (of latitude - 60 nautical miles) to the Pole. Back at Union, our team whiled away a windy morning inside the dining tent. After lunch, things had calmed and so we got out our ropes and rescue gear to run through crevasse rescue systems. There are dozens of other climbers in our same boat... Waiting for a plane. They were out in force today, reviewing their own rope techniques in Russian, German, French, Chinese, and exotic English.
We'll hope for a change in the fog out at BBC tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
June 19, 2014 - 6:43 pm PT
Today on our next to last day for up hill travel we got the window we needed! The no troubles crew had no trouble with our move, reaching our
high camp at 17,200ft! An early departure from our 14K camp meant cold hands and feet as we approached the fixed lines, but by the time we reached our first break the sun had crested the ridge to our south. We basked in the most welcome UV, and continued up to the base of the fixed lines without feeling the bite of the -5F temperatures.
We dispatched the fixed lines without incident, and were soon taking a break in a crisp little nook on the
buttress proper. High, wispy clouds took the heat right out of the sun, and the constant winds reminded us of our arctic location. The last little bit of steep fixed line at Washburn's Thumb posed no issues, and we climbed into some of the most spectacular terrain of the
West Buttress.
Steep walls fell away on both sides as we climbed the last stretch into camp, and soon we had reclaimed a couple of tent platforms, set up our shelter and had stoves running for water. The constant burn is a reminder of our high location and is helping to drown out the stiff northeast breeze currently moving through camp.
Tomorrow looks like it'll be our window for a summit attempt, provided the winds die down and the temperatures stay reasonable. We're psyched for the camaraderie of sharing camp with
Jake Beren's team, and look forward to being on the route with them tomorrow. Wish us luck!!
Cheers,
RMI Guide Tyler Jones and The No Troubles Team
On The Map
June 7, 2014 - 6:49 pm PT
...and the players are ready! Hello from our cloudy camp at 11,000. The team had a productive morning rising to a cold clear day! We started the day with a classic mountain breakfast of instant grits with a side of pop tarts. We know it's not likely many would approve but for us it hit the spot and was the fuel we needed on a breezy, cold morning lugging our cache loads all the way to our next
camp at 14,200 ft.
This was our first day of more technical climbing - we've been referring to the mountain behind us as the long heavy approach. The rope teams climbed with crampons and ice axes up Motorcycle Hill around to the famous Squirrel Hill. Lore has it that one early expedition had a furry stowaway on board that jumped from a member's pack at a break on this stretch of mountain, resulting in the long-standing name "Squirrel Hill."
After this section we made great time up to and around Windy Corner, which gave us a taste of some icy breezes as we crested over into the sun. The remaining stretch of glacier went quickly, and we were dropping our kit into yet another snow hole before noon. The group climbed flawlessly as we were back to our tents at 11,200' before we knew it. Now we're resting and preparing for tomorrow's move up to our fourth camp,the highest so far. Don't touch that dial, we'll be back with an update tomorrow!
RMI Guides Garrett, Tyler, Bryan, and the team
On The Map
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Got the message that you guys moved up to @ 9600’ Great job! Please post an update on how the team is doing when you can.
Posted by: Marina on 5/22/2011 at 7:41 am
HW- hope the weather will get better. BB made a new friend with a 3yr old boy with glasses in her soccer class today. All of us are well and we wish you & your team a successful climb. Love, F
Posted by: F on 5/21/2011 at 6:38 pm
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